Clarity vs. Persuasion: An Internal War

I’m a skeptic.  

Why should I believe it without experiencing it? 

You’re probably wondering what I am talking about.  Aliens.  No, not really.  I’m referring to anything.  I just don’t trust a lot of things and people.  You could say I have a problem and I could blame it on the media and technology of today.  

I’d be lying.  This is why I can’t trust!

In reality, I think my skepticism is more inherent.  I’d still need proof of things even if information didn’t travel as fast.  In other words, I’m not trained to need more details.  I just want them.

More Information, Please

In many parts of life wanting more information is good.  I love to learn and I like to challenge my brain.  Remember the “drums” story from the last E-Impact entry from 2020?

Unfortunately, my obsession with information also tends to slow decision making.  You’ve heard that perfect is the enemy of good.  I’m on Team Perfect (we’re very flawed).  

Although I gave myself an out by blaming my personality on genetics (sorry mom and dad),  the age of information is still upon us.  Most people shop heavily before making any purchase.  And when I say shop, I mean scrolling Google and Amazon.  You can find just about anything using those tools.  

Information is quite the commodity.  In a vacuum it’s limited.  There’s only so much information on one subject.  However, information is also endless (or seemingly to us mere mortals).  The human race loves discovery.  We are trying to inhabit Mars!  See Space X’s page on interplanetary life or Blue Origin.

Information Gathering the Habit

If information is so desired, it explains why we develop habits around acquiring it.  Impressions (from December 15’s E-Impact Blog entry) are very powerful.  The brain will form habits around them if experienced enough.

When’s the last time you checked out your basal ganglia?

I found a great quote in an article entitled “The Neuroscience of Change: How to Train Your Brain to Create Better Habits” by Thomas Oppong.

Habits are found in an area of your brain called the basal ganglia.

The more often you perform an action or behave a certain way, the more it gets physically wired into your brain.

The wiring of your brain enables you to repeat things more efficiently and as you search for information, it tends to become easier to do.  

So, give me a break!  It’s too easy to be a skeptic.  Why trust when you can just look it up yourself?

THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT - IT RULES OUR LIVES!

Rewiring Your Brain

DIYing (Do It Yourself-ing) is almost too popular.  I find myself using You Tube to do everything.  I should probably continue honing a shorter list of skills and let experts handle the other things. 

You think I can replace our roof by myself?  

Thomas also said in his article, “Breaking a bad habit ultimately is about rewiring your brain.”

I agree and would add that breaking a “good” habit (seeking information) is also about rewiring your brain.

Seeking Clarity

It may seem like the case, but I am not suggesting that we shut down search engines or blindly trust anything.  My idea is consider your scenario when looking for information.

If it’s a desperate situation and time is of the essence, do what you have to do.  Take action.  Get it done.  

However, if you are in a more reasonable situation, consider whether you are looking for proof or understanding.  

If you are looking for proof you need to be persuaded.  If you want to understand you need clarity.  These are very different.

I believe we have let proof make its way into unremarkable things.  And we assume clarity is a click away.

For example,  if someone told you that they jumped off of a one hundred story building, you’d want to see it.  You would need proof.  This is reasonable.  It’s not likely that someone could jump off a one hundred story building and live.  Assuming they were not being sarcastic, or telling joke or riddle, you would struggle to believe they were being truthful.  

I think that disbelief is what made Evel Knievel (his real first name was Robert, maybe I should consider a career change) a legend.  It tells me that human skepticism has been around since at least the ‘60s (haha) and it’s still going strong by proof of Evel’s son Robbie Knievel.

What if, however, someone told you they fell off a two story building and landed in a pile of garbage.  You’d probably be curious as to what happened.  You could easily believe them, but you would need more information.  You’d want clarity.

In the first example, you would need to be persuaded.  In the second, you would just want to understand. 

Prove It!

Last week, I wrote about the dumbest thing I’ve ever done in E-Impact 32.  Believable, right?

Well, what about the most unlikely thing that I have ever done?

I once jumped a median in my car at 55 miles per hour while going through a busy intersection at the airport.

Believe me, it was cool.  Moving on…

Okay.  Not enough information, I know.  I will persuade you of my truth.

There are multiple roads that lead to FLL.  Normally, I take the highway to get there.  But one special time I was at a nearby location and I didn’t have access to the highway.  I had to take a smaller road, but didn’t have time to lag.  My wife was flying home and I didn’t want to make her wait.  

This was prior to having GPS and I needed to navigate strictly by the direction I was going.  I knew I would get there eventually and could see the highway that I wished I was on.

Once I reached a point where I was confident I didn’t have to make any more major turns I cruised near the speed limit.  I had no intentions to repeat the story from the October 27, 2020 E-Impact Blog entry, which was very fresh in my young memory at that point.  

As I approached the airport there was one more large intersection.  I had a green light and there were only two cars (including myself) on my side of the street.  I felt a sense of relief looking at the clock.  I would be on-time to pick up my bride and I certainly would not tell her about how I had to rush.  

Unfortunately, my secret became impossible to hide.  As I approached the traffic light, the other car, which was in the right lane (of three, plus turning lanes) swerved across the entire road into mine (the left).  My only reaction was to jerk the car out of the way so as not to t-bone the other driver.  I wondered what they were thinking.

I assume it would have been worse to run into oncoming traffic, but my reaction was to avoid the first peril.

I forced the steering wheel so hard to the left that I went through the turning lane and over the median.  I flew into the intersection on the wrong side of the road.  My reaction was not to slam on the breaks, but to navigate.  If I would have just hit the breaks, I think I might have spun  out of control and potential hit someone else.  As I landed, I noticed a safe path to take avoiding other cars.  

I drove on the other side of the road for a moment (which seemed like an eternity) and settled down.  Then, I drove back over the median and continued on my way.  

I know, you’re wondering if I made it on time.  I sure did!  What a story I had to tell also.  

“Hey honey, how was your flight!?”

“Hi! It was great, but let me tell you how…”

“Ask me how the drive was!”

“…How was the drive?”

“I thought you’d never ask!”

Here’s a diagram of the scene if you’re being a skeptic: 

Hopefully, this proves that I am telling the truth.

The Spectrum of Belief

I am not a social neuroscience expert, but after reading “Where belief is born” by Alok Jha I believe in the fluidity of the brain.  

The articles references the amygdala which is defined as:

a roughly almond-shaped mass of gray matter inside each cerebral hemisphere, involved with the experiencing of emotions.

This thing matters.  Our emotions matter.  They are powerful.  Remember to Honor Peoples’ Emotions, Don’t Lead With Yours.

Emotions and memory work together to form your beliefs, which in turn create habits.  When something triggers disbelief, it’s easiest for the brain to apply the related habits.  Those habits lead to a need for persuasion.  Whereas, your interest in something that you believe in, leads to a need for clarity.  

There is a spectrum.  Clarity and persuasion pull against each other inside your brain.  Ironically, pulling further in either direction does not actually lead to a conclusion.  It’s just the start of your efforts.  This all happens in milliseconds for most of your interactions throughout the day.  

Start Right (Correct)

The start of anything usually sends you in a specific direction.  It’s best to start going the right way (although Mid-Course Corrections are often needed).

If you understand that clarity is the more desirable choice in most reasonable situations, consider developing habits that train the brain to think that way.  Call on your amygdalas.  

Don’t be a skeptic when you don’t need to be.  Respect the expertise of people that you should.  If your dentist tells you you have a cavity, there’s a pretty good chance you have one.  If your attorney says you need braces, I’d do some research.  

In addition, seek to provide clarity, not to persuade.  I think you’ll find that more people will join you on your mission.

Your impact initiative is clear to you.  You don’t have to be convinced.  Make it clear to others and they won’t have to be convinced either.